learning about linen (or, why isn’t it autumn yet?)

(click for complete poem & painting on wikipedia) Illustration of poem “To Autumn” by John Keats, painted by W. J. Neatby. From “A Day with Keats: With numerous coloured illustrations” by May Clarissa Gillington Byron and illustrations by W. J. Neatby

A lovely bit by John Keats reminded me it’s supposed to be Autumn now.

            SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness!

With all the hurricane problems, I’d forgotten. We had 3 days of cool, dry temperatures whetting my appetite for more.

But it’s hotted up again.   😱

not keen on finishing this but, to quote Hila (Saturday Night Stitch), “done is better than perfect.” and she’s right.

Which means I’m still very much in summer dresses mode.

Which means those linen plans are still firmly in place. But that’s a good thing.

The current issue of Threads’ magazine has a great article all about linen.

things about linen

• It’s a cellulose material made from fibre stems of flax, anywhere from 5 to 21 inches in length.
• More than 30,000 years ago, people were using flax fibres to make linen-like cloth.
• Egyptians did the first linen manufacturing about 4,000 years ago.
• It’s highly absorbent, like cotton and rayon, but allows evaporation more quickly than either, thus making it cooler for warm weather clothing.
• Those qualities also made it ideal for undergarments.
• It is extremely durable, with a lint-free surface that also resists dust and dirt.
• Linen is resistant to both insects and the sun which makes it ideal for home décor.
• It doesn’t stretch, making it ideal for painting canvas and embroidery.
• Lack of stretch makes it wrinkle more easily.
• It takes paint and dyes well.
• It can be damaged by bleach, mildew, and perspiration.
• Continual creasing in the same places (think folds, hems, etc.) can weaken and break the fibres.
• Linen is strongest when wet! Best to iron when damp.

And the list goes on!

Plus, the article has ideas about how to handle your linen garment once it’s made, including different ways to dry it to get different effects. And ways to avoid ironing it, if you like that look.

I threw this 100% linen camp shirt (rescued from a Virginia charity shop) into the dryer for 5 minutes when I decided I didn’t want to iron it. (Note that I liberally sprayed it first with water to dampen it. Dry linen gets drier in the dryer, and that’s not good as fibres can break.)

What do you think about the effect? It’s very soft and no Fabric Police accost me when I wear it in public. He-he!

back of shirt

front of shirt

Edited to add: linen #2: different weights 
linen #3: boring? no way!